Sept 11th, 2026
Another unseasonably warm day in Yosemite – yesterday it was in the high 90’s, which is unpleasant for hiking here. What’s up with that? My friends arrived from the Bay Area around noon, so after chatting for a while, I transitioned into tour guide mode and we cruised around the park. It’s not like I know the place that well, but I guess I have hit most of the main tourist attractions in my past visits. We started off at Bridalveil falls, which this time of year, the falls are basically more like a wispy drizzle….very much like a veil I guess.
We did see a pretty, Stellars Jay on the way back to the car, posing for us in a tree.
After that, we headed up my un-favorite road, to Glacier Point and sure enough, we had yet another road sloth in front of us. Which turned out to be some tour company car and the driver at least knew the rules and pulled over. Once we made it up to the Glacier Point parking lot, which is a lot different in the daylight, I remembered why this is one of the most popular locations in the park – the views of Half Dome and the surrounding granite peaks are astounding. We hiked around to the different view spots, took a lot of photos, and just stared out at the incredible scenery.
For me, there were some memories that came back staring at Half Dome. A little over ten years ago, I stood atop that massive pile of granite, after four months of preparation, all documented in my first attempt at a blog. It was quite an adventure. So here is a “Then and Now” shot. I was in a lot better shape ten years ago.
And a few more shots of the view for the fun of it.
The blog of my Half Dome adventure is still out there, on the Google blog site. Some of the photos have disappeared, but it’s still fun to read.
After reminiscing for a while, and buying some ice cream at the gift shop (no gelato so I had to make do), we headed on down to the valley to make a few stops to view El Capitan, that amazing wall of granite which is a mecca for serious rock climbers. Even at my very best in my climbing days, I would never have considered climbing any of the routes on that wall. And then there’s Alex Honnold who did one of the most difficult routes free solo. No ropes.
After that, it was late enough to head back to the hotel, rest and have some dinner. I had plans to do a bit more astrophotography in the evening, this time at the Tunnel View. Only a short drive from the hotel. In the dark of course.
The Tunnel View is a large, crowded parking area, on the valley side of a long tunnel which connects to the Glacier Point side of the park. The view from the parking lot is a classic for Yosemite – you have the expanse of the valley walls, including El Cap, straight out to Half Dome. Pretty nice. But, it attracts hordes of people to take selfies, so there is usually a major slowdown for cars and people crossing the road. It is listed as a good spot for astrophotography since you can capture the stars and the Milky Way, hovering over the valley if you are lucky. The problem is, car traffic and people with flashlights. During the prime tourist season, you have heavy traffic going both ways at the tunnel, long into the night, and gobs of people who want to see that view on a starry night. Headlights are a problem for dark sky photography – with long exposures, bright lights ruin images by “light painting” the foreground. It may not be prime season but the traffic was very heavy when I pulled in at 7:40. And stayed heavy most of the time I was there. Plus, there were quite a few serious photographers there, including one brave soul who was trying to do a star trails shot – that’s where you take multiple photos, and use software to stitch together one of the circular streaks of stars.
So, I set up my tripod in an empty spot, and tried timing my exposures when it seemed like there were breaks in the traffic. It was fun talking with some of the other photographers, and I spent some time using my Photopills application, trying to find the Milky Way. I shot about 70 images, some of which are throw-aways due to light painting from headlights, and eventually headed back to the hotel around 9:30. I did not want a repeat of the previous night, with bad leg cramps on the drive back.
I managed a few good shots – here’s the best so far.
One more day in the park tomorrow (Saturday), and then it’s back home. This has been a relaxing, fun trip so far, even with the traffic and slow drivers. Yosemite is such an incredibly beautiful place.
Peace